Device to protect projecting articles on fabrics



Dec. 14, 1954 A 95 2,696,725

DEVICE To PROTECT PROJECTING ARTICLES on FABRICS Filed sgpt 13(1949 Bnnentor (Ittornegs 24 14 24 And/19W De Cec' United States Patent DEVICE TO PROTECT PROJECTIN G ARTICLES 0N FABRICS Andrew De Cecco, Fairfield, Conn.

Application September 13, 1949, Serial No. 115,335

4 Claims. (Cl. 68-235) The present invention relates to protective devices of the type used to cover buttons, ornaments and other similar articles which are attached to a fabric and which cannot be conveniently removed therefrom during a cleaning or the like operation in which the fabric is subjected to a somewhat violent agitation.

In cleaning garments such as coats, dresses, etc. which have buttons, buckles, ornaments or the like articles attached thereto, it has been the practice among good cleaning establishments to remove said articles during the cleaning operation and store them separately so that they will not be torn from the fabric and become lost. After the cleaning operation the right articles must be reassembled with the proper garment and attached thereto. This is a tedious and time-consuming operation. Oftentimes while the buttons or the like are removed from the garment and in storage, one or more of the buttons are lost causing considerable trouble, particularly when the button or the like is unique and cannot be replaced.

The present invention overcomes these difiiculties by keeping the buttons or other articles attached to the garment and providing a simple shield which is disposed over the button, ornament or the like and secured to the fabric to prevent them from being separated from the garment and lost during the cleaning operation.

The protective device or shield of the present invention is simple and inexpensive to make and is easily applied and securely fastened to the fabric at points around the button or the like to hold it in place against unintentional removal.

In the preferred form of the invention the shield is provided with a plurality of readily bendable pins which pass through the fabric and are then bent into engagement with the undersurface of the fabric. This can be easily done when the fabric is a heavy fabric, such as an overcoat or the like material, which will effectively hold the shield in position. The shield may be quickly removed from its position by merely pulling the shield with one hand and the. fabric with the other hand thus causing the pins to straighten out and pass through the fabric.

In cases where the fabric carrying the button is of a delicate nature, a tear-preventing sheet may be inserted under the fabric to receive the prongs and provide a means against which the prongs can act to hold the shield in place without tearing the fabric. The material of the tearpreventing sheet is of suiiicient thickness that the ends of the prongs may be embedded therein to prevent tearing of the fabric during the agitation thereof.

It is presently preferred to employ a shield which is approximately the size of the article to be protected and to space the prongs or the pins at distances which are less than the minimum transverse dimension of the article so that they completely enclose the article and prevent separation and loss of the article even though the thread or other usual attaching means for the article may become disconnected.

Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the specification and claims when considered in connection with the drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows a perspective of one form of the invention.

Fig. 2 shows a plan view of the device of Fig. 1 in position over a button.

FFig. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of Fig. 4 is a perspective of another form of the invention.

2,696,725 Patented Dec. 14, 1954 Fig. 5 shows a plan view of this form of the invention in position on the button.

Fig. 6 is a perspective of another form of the invention.

Fig. 7 is a view showing the device of Fig. 6 applied to a button with the device in section. I

In the simplest form of the present device a plurality of angularly related wires are crossed and joined together in any suitable manner at their midpoint. In the illustrated form shown, two wires 10, the minimum which may be used, are secured together at 10a by solder or the like to form the portion to overlie the button. The ends of the wires are bent down at 11 to form prongs extending out of the plane of the overlying portion and in the direction of the fabric and are provided with piercing points 12 which as shown in Fig. 2 pierce the fabric as the device is applied over a button 13 secured to a piece of fabric 14 which may be a coat, dress or any like article which is subject to washing, cleaning or the like. The button 13 is usually held to the fabric 14 by stitches 15. After the device is placed over the button as shown in Fig. 2 the prongs extending through the fabric are bent under as shown in Fig. 3 to lock the device in place.

The device is made in various sizes according to its intended use. It will be noted that the space between any two adjacent prongs is less than the minimum diameter of the article to be retained therein so that even though the thread 15 may become severed or disconnected the button cannot be lost from the material.

Preferably the ends of the prongs are bent upward into the overlying material to prevent snagging and damage of the fabric thereby during the cleaning operation. In cases where the material is heavy, such as in overcoats, etc. the ends of the prongs are bent directly into the fabric. However, in thin materials, such as silks, rayons and thin cottons, etc. this cannot be done and a flexible, relatively thick tear-preventing sheet 16 is placed over the back of the fabric so that the prongs pass therethrough and the sheet lies between the bent-over ends of the prongs and fabric to provide reenforcement against tearing of thin fabric by the bent-over prongs. The ends of the prongs are turned into the material of this sheet to prevent their catching in and tearing the fabric during the agitation thereof during the cleaning operation. After the cleaning operation it is merely necessary to grasp the wires 10 in one hand and the fabric in the other hand and pull them apart. The heavy fabric of the overcoat or tear-preventing sheet will cause the pins to straighten out as they pass through the fabric so that the device may be easily and quickly removed without in any way damaging the fabric.

In the form of the invention shown in Fig. 4, a pair of strips 20 is provided with recessed portions 21 at their center which enable them to be nested at right angles as shown in Fig. 5 when they are assembled around a button. The ends of the strips are narrowed and form bendable prongs 22 which are adapted to pass through the fabric and into interlocked relation therewith in a manner similar 9 thlat described in connection with the form shown in Fig. 6 shows another form of the invention which is particularly useful in connecting large buckles or ornaments and also for connecting the usual shoulder pads to the inner surface of a garment during cleaning. This comprises a large flexible protective sheet 23 having bendable pins 24 secured at the corners thereof. The protective sheet is positioned over the article to be shielded and the pins passed through the fabric and bent over in the manner previously described to securely hold the ornaments, etc. against dislodgement during the cleaning process.

It will be seen that in all forms of the invention it is unnecessary to remove the button, buckle or other ornament from the garment to be cleaned and that such button, buckle or ornament will be shielded and securely held in position on the garment during the cleaning operation or other agitation of the garment without damage and without danger of being lost. Thus with the present invention considerable time will be saved and the danger of lost buttons avoided.

Variations and modifications may be made within the may be used without others.

3 I claim:

1. In combination, a button's'ecured to a fabric by means passing through said button and fabric and an auxiliary fastener to temporarily enclose said button to protect the button from damage or casual or accidental separation from the fabric, said auxiliary fastener comprising a cage having portions forming a generally flat top of determinate size extending across and overlying and engaging the top face of the button which the fastener is to protect, the peripheral portions of said top outermost from the center thereof having pairs of diametrically opposite elongate thin legs depending therefrom at right angles thereto for extending past the outside edges of the button with the legs of each pair being spaced apart a determinate distance less than the smallest diameter of the button so as to engage the outside edge of the button and limit lateral movement thereof in every direction, and to prevent other objects from entering between the edge of the button and the fabric to which the button is attached and from ripping the button secured by both fastening means off the fabric, said thin legs each adjacent their tips having a single sharp piercing point to pierce the fabric to which the button is attached without cutting through the threads of the fabric and said thin legs being of such length as to extend through and beyond the opposite side of the fabric to secure the button thereto without passing through the button, said legs being readily bendable so as to enable them to be bent at right angles so as to lie along the said opposite side of the fabric and anchor the button and cage to the fabric, and to be intentionally straightened to permit withdrawal of the legs from the fabric after the cage has served its purpose.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1 in which the cage comprises a pair of crossed round wires secured to 4 each other at their central portions, and in which the legs comprise bent end portions of said wires, provided with points.

3. The invention as defined in claim 1 in which the cage comprises a pair of crossed generally flat sheet metal strips secured to each other and having downturned ends, and in which the legs comprise depending extensions on the downturned ends, said extensions being tapered and of relatively narrow width.

4. The invention as defined in claim 1 in which the cage comprises a top member formed of a fiexible protective sheet and pins piercing said member, and in which the legs comprise extensions on said pins, provided with points, to pierce the fabric of the garment.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 294,446 Crandal Mar. 4, 1884 320,451 Walter June 16, 1885 520,621 Stowe May 29 1894 1,074,077 Wismer Sept. 23, 1913 1,180,104 Barnes Apr. 18, 1916 1,214,333 Littlejohn Jan. 30, 1917 1,706,576 Karcsak Mar. 26, 1929 2,189,467 Jacobs Feb. 6, 1940 2,384,477 Lang Sept. 11, 1945 2,410,208 Gauldin Oct. 29, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 20,822 Great Britain Sept. 10, 1908 

